It Isn't the Child Wearing Us Out, It's the System': Navigating Support Systems When Struggling as Foster Parents in Norway

Abstract

Foster parents encounter significant and diverse obstacles in receiving support when caring for children affected by relational trauma and mental illness. These issues extend to their interactions with welfare systems, mental health professionals and personal networks. This study is aimed at understanding foster parents' needs in navigating the support systems and finding a balance in their responsibilities. To address this, we conducted interviews with 22 foster parents caring for children receiving mental health treatment in a specialized outpatient clinic in Norway. We present the findings as a general meaning structure comprising four interconnected constituents: (1) the challenge of being an ‘employee’ and a parent, (2) encounters marked by inadequate information, (3) wanting a closer relationship with the child welfare services and (4) feeling a need for confidential conversations and support. This study underscores foster parents' struggle with systems that fail to provide adequate child information and holistic support, highlighting a pressing need for context-aware and tailored systemic improvements.